■LIFE INSURANCE
Samsung sets IPO record
Samsung Life Insurance shares jumped nearly 9 percent in their first day of trading in South Korea after a US$4.3 billion initial public offering that set a record as the country’s largest. The shares opened yesterday at 119,500 won, 8.6 percent above the IPO price of 110,000 won. They later surrendered some of those gains to trade at 114,500 won. A total of 44,437,420 shares were offered to the public with a value of about 4.9 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) at the IPO price. That far exceeded the previous record IPO by Korea Life Insurance earlier this year of 1.78 trillion won.
■STEEL
ThyssenKrupp back in black
German steel maker ThyssenKrupp AG says it returned to profitability in the second quarter due to a rise in demand and cost-cutting measures. The Duesseldorf company said yesterday that earnings before taxes rose by 497 million euros (US$631.1 million) to 206 million euros in the three months through March, its fiscal second quarter. No net profit figures were released. Sales increased 3 percent to 10.1 billion euros, while order intake increased 36 percent to 10.4 billion euros.
■MEDIA
Games unit boosts Vivendi
Vivendi SA says its net profit rose 21 percent in the first quarter thanks to strong earnings at its Santa Monica, California-based Activision Blizzard unit and the integration of newly acquired Brazilian telecom operator GVT. Activision Blizzard is the video game producer behind titles such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Net profit in the January-to-March period rose to 598 million euros from 493 million euros a year earlier. Revenue was 6 percent higher at 6.9 billion euros.
■VIDEO GAMES
EA ends long losing skid
US videogame giant Electronic Arts (EA) posted a quarterly net profit on Tuesday, snapping its losing streak of 12 consecutive quarters in the red. The Redwood City, California-based company reported a fourth-quarter net profit of US$30 million, compared with a net loss of US$42 million in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue was up 14 percent in the quarter that ended on March 31 at US$979 million, better than forecast by Wall Street analysts. EA said it expected revenue of between US$710 million and US$750 million in the current quarter.
■TELECOMS
Deutsche Telekom profit up
The German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom yesterday posted a jump in first-quarter net profit while sales slipped owing to weak results from its domestic market. Deutsche Telekom said net profit jumped to 767 million euros in the three-month period, compared with a loss of 1.12 billion euros in the first quarter of last year. But sales at Deutsche Telekom, the biggest European operator, slipped by 0.6 percent to 15.81 billion euros owing to a drop of 2.9 percent in Germany itself.
■AUTOMAKERS
Nissan reports annual profit
Japan’s No. 3 automaker, Nissan Motor, yesterday posted a return to the black, reporting an annual profit of ¥42.4 billion (US$460 million) from a previous loss of ¥233.7 billion. The company saw a much narrower fourth-quarter net loss of ¥11.6 billion in the three months ended March. Nissan forecast a 254 percent surge in profit to ¥150 billion for the fiscal year ending March next year.
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
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Israel yesterday said it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory, while Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and head off the plan. The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out. Trump yesterday said that Israel would turn Gaza over to the US after the